This I Believe

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My family has a running joke about me that I am the most Puerto Rican person that they know. If you happen to see me in person you might notice that there are at least two Puerto Rican flags on me at all times, my body basically runs on rice and beans, and I have a tattoo of a frog native to Puerto Rico on my left wrist. You could say that I am very proud of where I am from. I have so much love for the little island that my family calls home.

My name is Angelika, I am nineteen years old, and I am the daughter of two Puerto Rican parents. In recent years, whenever someone has asked me the question, “What do you want to do with your life?” or “What do you want to be?” I say to them I don’t know.

I say to them, I have no idea what I am going to do, but I want to give back to my people. I’m not sure on what I will do or how I will do it, but I am sure that I was given the voice I have for a reason.

I believe in Puerto Rico. I believe in it’s people, it’s soil, it’s art, and it’s future. There is work to be done and I want to lend my hands. I want to continue the conversation that activists before me have started. My gut feeling and probably some Caribbean juju have lead me to make a choice. A choice to not watch my island crumble, but rather to help it grow.

Now for a little bit on Puerto Rico’s history. I’m sure that you’ve heard of the terrible state that Puerto Rico is in. It was covered by the media for a whopping two days. But, in case you don’t know that much about the island, I’ll give you some background.

Puerto Rico is a small island in the Caribbean that was originally inhabited by the Taino people. Then good ol' Christopher Columbus came in and nearly took out the entire population with disease, slavery, and murder. This was just the beginning of the island's journey as a colony, soon after Columbus came so did slaves from Africa. So naturally all the races mixed and the United States acquired Puerto Rico as a colony from the Spanish. And now we're here....sort of.

See, the problem with Puerto Rico being a colony is that they do not have the same rights as regular states. They cannot vote in the Presidential election, the island cannot file for bankruptcy, and many other factors have led it to the state that it is in now. At a certain point, the economy was thriving, between tourism and the pharmaceutical industry and all the incentives that corporations would get from building their businesses there.

However, the businesses soon left and the economic recession hit hard. Puerto Rico had no choice but to keep borrowing money that they knew they couldn’t pay back. This initiated Puerto Rico's spiraling debt which has left 46.1% of the population below the poverty rate. A number monumentally larger than that of any of the 50 states.

Oh, and there is a crumbling infrastructure. But let me not overwhelm you with the multitude of problems that the island faces. It is a lot to take in all at once.

So here we are now, a couple months after Hurricane Irma and Maria both devastated the islands. As if things were not bad enough, now Puerto Ricans have to try and fix the mess left behind by the biggest natural disaster to ever hit them.

So what now? What do I do to help? How do I change the story?

On December 22nd, 2017 I traveled down to Puerto Rico for the first time in seven years. To say the least, it was heartbreaking. My abuelo was dying and my parents and I had to rush down there to say our last goodbyes. I couldn’t help but think that the stress of the hurricane had caused this. I felt angry, distraught, and frustrated with the way that the people on the mainland could seem to care less about the state of American citizens in Puerto Rico. My people were crying out for help and very few were there to respond. My abuelo passed away the day after Christmas.

This is when I made my choice.

I spent a lot of time following my abuelo’s passing in my parents hometown of Ponce. I went to the main plaza, the church, the local bakery, the funeral home, and the hospital. I saw suffering but I also witnessed hope. This is not the end for Puerto Rico but rather a new beginning. I decided that I want to take part in this change. I would like to be a part of the future of Puerto Rico.

The first thing I would like to do is to start changing the way that Puerto Rico is portrayed in the media. It is not just a place where people vacation or a stop for Caribbean cruise lines. The people that live there should be important to the United States, they shouldn’t be treated as second class citizens.

I’m just a Puerto Rican girl with a lot of love for my island and a creative mind. I think that the best thing that I can do is tell the stories of the many different people on the island. I would like to project the voices of those who feel like the people on the mainland won’t listen. I want to use rhetoric to inspire Puerto Ricans to believe that they are worth it. Their stories matter. Writing, dance, visual art, and film are all ways to get my message across. The more I create, the more conversations I can start, and hopefully can catch the attention of at least one person so that they can maybe begin to listen to the needs of the people of Puerto Rico.

I know that it is quite ambitious to think that I could make any difference, but what’s the hurt in trying? I believe in myself.

In the face of everything that could possibly go wrong, my family still stands. I know that they are worth the fight.

Puerto Rico is worth the fight.

*All photos are mine

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